serotinus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [seːˈroː.tɪ.nʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [seˈrɔː.ti.nus]^[1]

Forms

sērōtinus (feminine sērōtina, neuter sērōtinum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from the adverb sērō “late” with -tinus, from sērus “late”.^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨sērus⟩ to Proto-Italic *sēro- (“(too) late”), Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-ro- (“long-lasting; late”), cognate with Old Irish sír (“lasting”) and Welsh hir (“long”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Seneca.^[5] Köbler dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant coming or happening late, belated, deferred, and of plants late-flowering, late-ripening, and Lewis & Short note it as an agricultural term of the Augustan period for the classical ⟨sērus⟩.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means late.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for “of the evening”, and the neuter for evening.^[8] It survives as Spanish serondo and Portuguese serôdio, and English serotine (1590s) is from it through French.^[1][3]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.^[5]
• 1590s – English serotine is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Late, belated, deferred.^[2][6]
2. Late-flowering, late-ripening.^[6][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Of the evening.^[8]

Related words

• sērus
• sērō
• English serotine

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press